WWII Willy replica visits D-Day for 75th anniversary

Trio from Maryland traveled to Bedford with 1942 Ford Jeep

BEDFORD, Va. – People in the Town of Bedford during the 75-anniversary celebrations for D-Day, got a chance to see three men driving around in a WWII Jeep.

The car got everyone's attention, people stopped to wave.

The green 1942 Ford is identical to a WWII Willy, according to the owner Mike Swisher.
It even had fake bullet holes on it.

Swisher, his son Ken and brother-in-law Ben Kalput traveled from Maryland to Bedford to be a part of the celebrations.

The trio tell 10 News its a hobby for them.

They dressed as soldiers and say they typically participate in parades in their hometown.

On Thursday they couldn't get into the D-Day memorial for security reasons with secret service and Vice President Mike Pence's visit.

But they say traveling to Bedford was a way to show they appreciate history.

"We don't have any active military experience in our personal backgrounds but to us we appreciate what these people did for everybody. Just to have this available for people to see the conditions, the equipment that they worked with in those days means a lot," Swisher said.

The men say this was their first time stopping in Bedford and have hopes of coming back to tour the memorial and give rides to local veterans in the 1942 Jeep.